I have no delusions of grandeur that my motor won't let go on a moment's notice, but just providing another data point. So far, its actually been running like a top with no issues whatsoever (at 32k miles, as mentioned above, 3k of those modded). I have money set aside when it does decide to go boom.

 

My luck I will finally get a date and be out for a nite of fun when that happens hahaha.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ophrmr39VQI

this one is nice

 

Stock block, 450whp and 375wtq. I have been running this way for years. Head studs are not needed as long as you are not going to far over 30psi. That said, I am saving for a rebuild.

I have 125k mi. and counting. The best time to rebuild is before it breaks obviously. Your pocket book will be one of the greatest determining factors if that is possible. Once it breaks though it can be more expensive due to collateral damage.

 

^+1. on top of that **** always seems to break at the most inconvenient times. at least for me it does. so save now and go ahead and build it. why take the risk and then have something happen when you dont have the funds or it puts you between a rock and a hard place?

 

I think that its cheap and stupid ut , put so mutch big loads on a stock block ,
The words better safe the sorry is fore a reason ,

you have 2 options , ore you run stock , power och stock enginge , and make it safe racing , and crusing 7 dags a week, ore you run a built motor , and 500 + hp

you wallet will tell you what to do :P

 

Honestly it is all in the tuning. There are plenty of guys includeing myself who make 500 plus hp and over 400 tq and there cars are fine. A good tuner will make sure your afr is safe, adjust your tq curve to make sure it is fine and come on late to ease the shock of the system. I mean I understand everyone wants to be safe but lets be realistic.

 

460whp and 405wtq for 2 years and not a problem with at least 50 drag passes and countless 2nd to 4th gear pulls on her.

 

Cool, thanks everybody. So a lot of mixxed replies. Whats the highest you should go and defenitly be safe.

 

The standard EvoM answer is keep the torque below 400 awtq for longest life. That can be higher if you are willing to risk it, or your tuner can effectively soften the torque hit, especially with a laggier turbo. Equally important to the tune is to not drive in low rpms under high load, thats the easiest way to fling a rod. 3k rpms in 5th going uphill is NOT a good time to go into full boost.

 

488hp 410 torque. 113k miles. Added an hta 3582, shooting for around 520-530/400 on next tune. Evo's can last a long time at these power levels with common sense. If you go smashing the gas pedal at every stop light then you could blow up at any moment. If you treat the car with respect, and maintain it. Drive the speed limit, kill that subie on the highway every now and then, a few trips to the track every now and then, the car could last a very long time. The chance of blowing up is greatly increased but many have made it at 500+ for years.

 

Definitely be safe? Keep it stock. Even then it's not unheard of for stock evos to still knock. I think everyone here can agree that when you start to tinker with the car, you risk reliability to some degree.

You're not going to get a magic number that says if you go over xxx whp or lb/ft of torque that your motor won't blow. Set a goal for yourself, mod your car to get there, and give yourself a separate bucket of change to fix things when (not talking if's here) they go wrong.

 

50 drag passses is noting you only stress the enginge some seconds ,
try bring it to the track , and race it 6 hrs stright and se if it might survive,
then you may say that is a good tuned car and it goes safe

 

I say don't gamble and build it up, of course some people will be making 400+hp on the stock block but they're just lucky, the risk of collateral damage from a catastrophic failure isn't worth it.

 

380tq 484hp have about 15k spirited miles. The motor is fine but had to get a new read diff and just blew my 2nd gear syncro. 94,xxx on my car. Just hate how laggy my car is so will built soon.